If you look in the file LCSSetup_Commands.txt found in the user profilee.g. C:\Users\kressmark\AppData\Local\Temp\LCSSetup_Commands.txt

You will find a more understandable error message:

Install-CsDatabase : Command execution failed: Install-CsDatabase was unable to find suitable drives for storing the database files. This is often due to insufficient disk space; typically you should have at least 32 GB of free space before attempting to create databases. However, there are other possible reasons why this command could have failed. For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=511023

The solution is of course to simply free up some disk space or expand the disk.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

As explained in the article Create or modify an unassigned number range in Skype for Business Server 2015"Skype for Business Server enables you to say what happens to incoming calls to phone numbers that are valid for your organization, but are not assigned to a user or a phone. To handle such calls, you set up an unassigned number table. You can use the table to route the calls to an Announcement application."

Since loops in telecom systems never are a good thing, let's look at how to configure the unassigned numbers feature. The first step is to record the announcement you would like to play when an unassigned number is called. I used the free Audacity software for this, and then I exported the audio as a WMA version 2 FFmpeg file.

My message were something like:"Welcome to <our org name>, you have called a number that is not in use. Please check the number and call again."

Next get on your Skype4B standard or enterprise front-end server and start the Skype4B management shell to import and configure the announcement.

Now open the Skype4B Control Panel (or restart it if you had it open already.)Go to Voice Features / Unassigned numbers to configure the range of numbers that should be homed (accessed over the SIP Trunk) on the Skype4B system.

Please note that you could enter the number with a + sign but without a leading tel: so it is a bit different from other places in the Skype4B Control Panel. The help file says "This means the number may begin with the string tel: (if you don’t specify that string, it will be automatically added for you), a plus sign (+), and a digit 1 through 9." (But why is not tel: added automatically when assigning a number to a user?)

The unassigned number table can include both assigned and unassigned numbers, but it is invoked only when a caller dials a number that is not currently assigned. This means it is fine to add one of the numbers in the range to a user and a call to that number will go to the user, or the other way around, if you remove a number in the range from a user a call to that number will get the announcement.

After committing these changes you do not need to restart anything, simply grab an internal client with a user with enterprise voice and dial one of the numbers in the range. You should now hear the message you recorded, and on the server you should also find event 46041 from LS Outbound Routing which says "Vacant Number Settings Loaded Successfully".

Next up would be to test an unassigned number from an external telephone.

If this call does not reach the announcement service chances are that you have configured a PSTN usage for the trunk under Voice Routing / Trunk Configuration in the Control Panel. This PSTN usage will somehow take precedence over the internal announcement service and will not let calls through. Remove the PSTN usage from the Trunk Configuration and your external call should be hearing the announcement now, and you will not risk getting loops in your system.

There are many areas where interoperability comes into play when implementing a Lync / Skype for business system.

Use this like a checklist

The interoperability program started with telephony equipment, this is natural since telephony is much more real-time sensitive and business critical than email or instant messaging. First gateways were used heavily and later SIP Trunking became increasingly popular, both types of PSTN connection is now in the interoperability programs.

Why would we put a SBC in front of the mediation server when doing SIP Trunking?A SBC can handle "malformed" SIP-packets and keep the mediation going even if the traffic is bad (but to what use?) A mediation server is not built to do policing on the incoming traffic while a SBC is. A SBC can also act as a firewall to protect an internal network.

How should an internal Wifi network with Skype for business mobile clients be handled?Treat it like an external network and let all traffic go through the Edge/RevProxy.

What is the difference between Compatible, Certified and Optimized in the interoperability program?It is a terminology mess that should be cleaned up. Not all "levels" exist for all types of devices / solutions.

Started with a brief history on Enterprise voice in LCS / OCS / Lync. Lync 2010 introduced Call-via-work for mobile clients, the ones without VoIP support. Enterprise voice did not change dramatically in Skype for business compared to Lync 2013. Remote Call Control (RCC) is still available in Skype for business.

Call-via-work gives click-to-call integration with an existing PBX, without CSTA (RCC), and presence for that call.

How it works

1. The user initiates an outbound call.
2. The Skype FE server initiates a call to a phone controlled by the user (using UCWA).
3. The user answers the incoming call.
4. The Skype FE server initiates a call to the callee (B party.)
5. When answered on the remote side Skype connects the two calls and updates the presence of the user.

Call-via-work initiates 2 call "legs"

The not so good

Call-via-work does nothing for incoming calls.
The user can click to call, have a voicemail server answer and then "voicemail" will be calling the B party.

Set-CsRoutingConfiguration -CallViaWorkCallerId +<PhoneNumber>
To set a global number to be used when calling call-via-work users back.

Or you could use...

New-CsCallViaWorkPolicy [-Identity] -Enabled $true -UseAdminCallbackNumber $true -AdminCallbackNumber +<PhoneNumber>
To set an individual number to be used when calling a specific call-via-work user back.
Setting the Callback Number administratively is optional and requires one policy per user.

Presented by Jamie Stark, Product Manager at Microsoft. (This is one of the sessions I also attended in person.)

Real-time broadcast meetings translated into several different languages on the fly is a feature that is being worked on right now. The Skype translator is already available with English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin in the preview, as well as 50 written languages for instant messaging translation. Skype Translator uses machine learning, so the more people use the technology, the better the experience for everyone, i.e. download it now! Today the Skype translator is a "modern" Windows 8.1 app, but later this year it will also be available as a regular windows executable. In the session we got a demo of Skype for business with a translator while it transcribed what Jamie was saying into English and immediately translated it into Mandarin. This demo triggered a spontaneous applause from the audience. Like Gurdeep said in the keynote: You can't get this stuff if you are using ten year old technology.

Lync / Skype for business works over the internet without the need of any VPN, and in the client we have the familiar "bars" to tell us if our network connection is strong or weak. User feedback on the call quality can easily be collected and stored in a database for reporting using the "Rate my call" feature built into Skype for business.

Another demo using a Jabra Evolve headset and the Jabra Direct software was shown to demonstrate the "Jabra intelligent call transfer." It is a feature that will monitor your headset during an ongoing Skype4B call and if the headset is disconnected it will automatically transfer the call to your mobile telephone.

I guess there should have been a demo of the Yealink SIP-T22P phone, but it was acquiring an IP-address so it did not happen. More enterprise voice features were discussed: delegation, call park, group pickup and shared line appearance.

Shared Line Appearance (SLA) is a coming feature that will be available later this year for both Skype for Business as well as for Lync 2013. SLA allows multiple devices to share calls and state information, it is a signaling application that scales well. An incoming call will arrive to the SLA application which will alert at multiple devices at the same time and the call can be picked up from anyone of the configured devices. When answered the line state is shown on all other configured devices.

SLA rings on multiple devices.

ACD (not Contact center functionality, but for internal helpdesks) is available in Skype for business through Response Group services.

Another service called "On-premises PSTN Connectivity" will be released in 2016 which will enable organizations worldwide to use Office 365 voice features with existing (on-prem equipment) trunks. (It looks like the discontinued "Hybrid Voice" is resurrected.)

Hybrid makes sense!

Questions

Can the call-via-work feature be enabled/disabled via policies?
Yes, and in addition it is possible to configure what number the call back should go to. (The call back can go to a PBX phone or any PSTN number really.)

Will the rate-my-call feature use any information coming from the client software?
No, the rate-my-call is the users perception only, the actual MOS-values for the call in question is not populated into the dialog or the feedback submitted by the user.

How will SLA be administered?
Using PowerShell (90% sure of that answer.)

Will SLA be available on "Aries" devices?
No, only on the Polycom VVX series, and only on one specific device to start with. More devices will be added further on.

Will the Persistent chat feature become available in Office 365?
No plans for that currently. Persistent chat will remain in on-premise versions. Rather than moving Persistent chat into Office 365, maybe Office 365 groups could extended in the future to cover similar functionality.

Will there be a new Lync phone edition in the future?
No, Lync phone edition will stay the same, but it works fine with Skype for business and is supported. It will not be rebranded "Skype for business phone edition". Use 3rd party phones instead.

Will the Skype translator be available for on-prem installations?
No, not right now, but maybe it could become available as a cloud service in the future.

Will the SILK codec be available for conferencing in Skype for business?
No, it is being rolled out slowly across the portfolio. First for Mobile, now in the rich client as well, next MCUs.

Are there any changes in CAC in Skype for business compared to Lync 2013?
No.

Presented by the Canadian Scott Stubberfield, Program Manager at Microsoft.

This session focused on the in-place upgrade, and featured a nice in-place upgrade demo. A Lync 2103 system with two paired pools was moved to Skype4B.

Customers do not want to be forced to upgrade the hardware when upgrading the software. With in-place upgrade we can reuse all Lync 2013 hardware, firewalls, configurations, etc. Smart Setup will check with a "Windows Update" like service and download new software before starting the upgrade.

After the right click in Topology builder and publishing the new topology with Skype for business servers we need to run the

Disable-CsComputer -scorch

command on all front-ends. This to stop and disable all Lync 2013 services (so that if the server would reboot they would not start up as Lync 2013 again.)

Questions

How do we upgrade a Persistant chat pool?
Same procedure as a user pool. Right click the pChat pool, upgrade, run Disable-CsComputer -scorch, and this procedure will move all the existing chat rooms to Skype for business.

Will there be a difference to do an in-place upgrade on Windows 2008 R2 compared to one on Windows 2012 R2?
No, Windows fabric 3 will be supported even on Windows 2008 R2 as on 2012 and 2012 R2.

Start with a Windows 2012 R2 server with two network cards. Set the defalt gateway to point out towars the internet and also use a public DNS server. Next use the "route add" to find your way in to the internal server network holding the Skype for business or Lync server(s), and also the internal CA. For example:

route add 192.168.1.0 MASK 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1 IF 12 -p

To verify, try to ping the internal Lync server(s) using the IP-address.

Hosts

Open Notepad as Administrator and edit the local Hostfile, normally
found under C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc. Add the following lines to
the hostfile. (Note, this is an example, your external webservices URL
can be named diffrently, check in the topology builder.)

The reverse proxy server must not be "domain joined" therefore you need to have the internal Certificate Authority Root Certificate installed in the certificate store under Local Computer \ Trusted Root Certification Authorities. (This is not applicable if your internal Skype for business / Lync server is using a Public Certificate.) Use the CA/certsrv webpage if available from the internal CA.

Start powershell as Administrator and run the following commands to install IIS which is a prerequisite for the Application Request Routing of course.

Start the Internet Information Server (IIS) Manager tool, click the IIS server in the tool, and now you get the following question.

Answer yes and you will arrive at a webpage where you can download and install the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 5.0. After the Web Platform is installed, search for "arr" and add Application Request Routing 3.0 (not 2.5 or 2.5 with KB.)

Click Install, Finish, and restart the Internet Information Server (IIS) Manager tool. Now there should be a "Server farms" hive in the IIS management tool and this is were one Server farm per external URL need to be created.

Create a server farm called dialin.domain.com that points to the server address dialin.domain.com (that we have pointed to the standard server or loadbalancer in the host file); set the httpPort to 8080 and the httpsPort to 4443. Also make sure the internal firewall is letting traffic through these ports.

Next, configure the Caching, Routing and Proxy Rules of the server farm.

Disable the disk cache, change the Proxy time-out to more seconds (I like 600), and disable the SSL offloading under Routing Rules

The Proxy time-out is a value you need to configure according to your environment. This is especially important for the lyncexternalweb.domain.com URL, the value should be more than 180 or even as much as 600. Just try to raise the value to where your mobile client does not display the message "Your server configuration has changed. Please restart Lync." all the time.

Amazing - a blog with both Microsoft server config and iOS screen shots...

Now you will find two URL rewrite rules per server farm under root\IIS\URL rewrite. Keep all the rules ending with _SSL and delete the rules that does not. In all the rules ending with _SSL add a {HTTP_HOST} condition matching the name of the server farm, e.g. lyncexternalweb.*

Testing

1. Test the meet URL from Internet explorer on the reverse proxy server. https://meet.domain.com:4443/
Here you should receive the meeting join page and you should not get a certificate error.

2. Test the meet URL from an external computer on the Internet.
https://meet.domain.com
Here you should receive the meeting join page and you should not get a certificate error.

3. Test the dialin URL from an external computer on the Internet.
https://dialin.domain.com
Here you should receive the dialin conferencing settings page and you should not get a certificate error.

4. Download and install the Microsoft Lync Connectivity Analyzer.
This tool helps Lync administrators find out if the deployment and configuration of their Lync Server environment meets the requirements to support connections from Lync mobile apps. If this works both the lyncdiscover and lyncexternalweb URLs are fine.

Presented by Sasa Juratovic and Aaron Miller, both from the Skype Enterprise Engineering team at Microsoft.

The presentation started out with a good voice quality demo of "good" network conditions compared to "bad" network conditions (10% bursty packet loss.) Requirements on a regular data network is not the same as requirements on a Real-Time Media network.

The same 3 issues as discussed in BRK3110 were discussed again:

Latency
The time it takes the packet to get from A to B. When talking about networks this is usually round trip time and noted as network latency.

Jitter
The amount of time the packets are delayed before processing to compensate for packets arriving later than other packets. This time gets added to the network latency.

Packet loss
The amount of packages that never survived the trip from A to B, got malformed, or simply arrived outside of the jitter buffer.

And added to list of issue were:

Audio and Video Glitching,
which is caused by the end user environment, the system or devices.

Call Quality Methodology, can be used even though using Skype 4B Online from Office 365. The main difference is that Microsoft will manage the servers and the network between the servers.

ExpressRoute 3.1 is Skype for Business ready and can be used to get QoS between your clients and Office 365, coming in the near future.

A new version of the Lync Bandwidth calculator for Skype for business Online were demonstrated, this will be realeased further on. Will it support SILK? (a good question at the end of the session)

"A well working network is the foundation of any Skype for Business Deployment."

Users of consumer Skype often say that Skype at home, over Wi-Fi, works great. Yes, when you are the only guy on that Wi-Fi network and Internet connection of course it will be better than sharing a network with maybe hundreds of people at an office.

Call quality on an IP-network can be a bit tricky.

The three networking issues we need to deal with:

JitterThe amount of time the packets are delayed before processing to compensate for packets arriving later than other packets. This time gets added to the network latency.

Packet lossThe amount of packages that never survived the trip from A to B, got malformed, or simply arrived outside of the jitter buffer.

LatencyThe time it takes the packet to get from A to B. When talking about networks this is usually round trip time and noted as network latency.

Networking is not an exact science, context is key, it is about getting satisfied end-users. Example: a 100ms delay within a small country is bad, a 100ms delay halfway around the world is good!

Desktop sharing in Skype for business Online in Office 365 is often a problem due to low bandwidth between your network and the closest Office 365 datacenter.

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a coming key technology to achieve satisfied end-users. Five partners already have solutions using SDN with Skype for business: Aruba, Prism, Extreme, HP and Nectar.

Questions:We have DSCP values set by group policy and it works fine with domain joined windows computers, but what would we do on a MAC? Use SDN.

How do we use QoS when traversing several networks? It does not work. Can SDN help? In 2016 Skype4B and Skype4B online will have feature parity, so probably SDN will become available for Skype4B online in the future.

Telephony over sketchy unmanaged IP networks is not working as well as copper based connections via a PBX, should we tell our customers to go back to the PBX? Not really answered - I would say: Connect a gateway to your managed network rather than trying to use telephony over an unmanaged IP network that is causing you trouble.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

I really like twitter, it is fast, easy and fun. So during Ignite (and other events I go to) I tend to tweet and retweet quite a lot. Twitter is also fun for the statistics you can get from it. Toni Pohl created a very nice summary of what was happening on the #MSIgnite hashtag during Ignite.

Since the 2nd of May untill May 10th there were almost 109.000 tweets containing #MSIgnite sent by approximately 17.000 Twitter users. A rough estimate gives that #MSIgnite should have reached at least some 5 million users. I sent around 1000 tweets and retweets during the event and this made me the second most active tweeter during Ignite.

Follow me on Twitter at @mkressmark

Another great use of twitter came from companies in the expo hall telling people to take pictures or tweet to certain hashtags and their followers of course. I tried to win a trip to Australia in a contest hosted by Recordpoint, but I did not make it, instead I won a license from Landis Computer.

The Skype for business team arranged a live competition on twitter on the hashtag #Skype4BTrivia, which I unfortunately missed. However, there were some nice questions and answers in that competition which I will reiterate here. See if you know the answers without cheating, have fun!

Questions

1. When was the official announcement made that Lync would become Skype for business?
2. Where was the last Lync Conference held before Microsoft Ignite?
3. What is the name of the default Skype for business font?
4. Which version of the product introduced the concept of Public IM Connectivity (PIC)?
5. What was the codename for Lync Server Control Panel?
6. What command would be used to return a Skype for business server to service after performing maintenance?
7. What is the new server role introduced in Skype for business?
8. When did Microsoft overtake Cisco in the leaders position of Gartner's magic quadrant for UC?
9. Which Skype for business port and protocol is used for incoming SIP requests for IM?
10. What is the default video codec for Skype for business?
11. When moving a user to a new pool using PowerShell, what is their new pool referenced as?
12. What is the sum of the PSTN country codes for these two countries (identified by their flags below - (Netherlands and Italy))?
13. Where can you see address book normalization rules in Skype for business?
14. In the Skype for business client, what is the default ring tone for Private Line?
15. What feature does call monitor NOT provide?

Saturday, May 16, 2015

I did not get to catch too many sessions since I was working, but the few I went to were very good. I learnt new things even though not so much is new in Skype for Business, and yes, I only went to Skype for business sessions :-)

Jamie Stark held a good presentation around voice in Skype for business, presented some news like SLA and ran some nice demos. My Norwegian friend Ståle Hansen held a session on Phone Number Management in Skype for business which was so popular it had to be run again, good job dude! Tommy Clarke talked about media and Johan Delimon explained SIP signaling. Just for the record - I gave all you guys the highest score available :-)

There were some 69 sessions around Skype for business in total, counting customer stories and partner sessions. Below is a list of some that I found interesting. The plan for my continued Ignite series is to watch these sessions on demand and give you summaries here on the blog, just keep refreshing this blog for updates.

BRK3110 - Skype for Business NetworkingBRK3128 - Ensuring Media Quality in Microsoft Office 365 Skype for BusinessBRK3138 - Getting to Skype for Business- Everything You Need to Know to Upgrade from LyncBRK3140 - The Voice of Skype for Business - An OverviewBRK3142 - Planning and Deploying Call via Work for Enterprise PBX UsersBRK3151 - From Voice to Video, All about Interoperability with Skype for BusinessBRK3167 - Skype for Business Management Tools for the Customer LifecycleBRK3174 - Real-Time Call Quality Metrics via Software Defined Networking (SDN) on Skype for BusinessBRK3184 - Common Questions and Concerns about Skype for BusinessBRK3198 - Skype for Business - Doing Very Large Online Meetings Very Easily!BRK3200 - Deployment Strategies and Integration Scenarios with Exchange and Skype for BusinessBRK3205 - Deep-Dive into Skype for Business and Microsoft Office IntegrationBRK3208 - Mobility Deployment and Security with Skype for BusinessBRK3211 - Skype for Business IT Pro Tools and ISV Solutions - Demo festBRK4100 - A Technical Deep Dive into Building Web Apps with the Skype Web SDKBRK4102 - SIP Signaling, Negotiation and Media Flows in Skype for BusinessBRK4103 - Meetings and Media - The Detailed ViewBRK4107 - Enterprise Voice- An Experts SessionBRK4108 - Skype for Business - Server Vital SignsBRK4112 - Automate Phone Number Management in Skype for BusinessBRK4118 - Skype for Business - Call Quality Management and OperationsBRK4119 - A Technical Deep Dive into Skype for Business Video and InteroperabilityBRK4120 - Troubleshooting Skype for Business ScenariosBRK4122 - Managing Backup and Restore in Skype for BusinessBRK4128 - A Deep Dive into Skype for Business MobilityBRK4129 - Hybrid Configuration Deep Dive of Skype for Business

The McCormick Place convention center is huge and confusing, it was hard to find the rooms to the north and south and in other buildings. It is probably a good thing that we are coming back next year, maybe we will find our way around better next time around.

Now where is N227B???

My one and only complaint on Microsoft Ignite was the food. In the Yammer group for Ignite the rating of the food scored between "Not good at all" and "I refuse to eat it". This must be an easy fix for next year and I'm sure Microsoft got this message.

The Expo hall

The Expo hall was of course huge as well. A very nice sized Skype for business booth was surrounded by many Skype for business partners and vendors. I got to meet with Audiocodes, and BTW did you know CloudPro is now an APSS Partner to Audiocodes? Unified Communications had the best Ignite t-shirt this year - "Don't hate - Federate", I just love it!

My Ignite trip report would not be complete without mentioning the parties. It was great fun to meet with Mr. Ingels from Sweden, with Advania-Robert from Göteborg accompanied by Giso the girlfriend and GKN-Cecilia who performed live on stage at the House of Blues. I also enjoyed the Svenskkväll (Swede-evening) hosted by Microsoft and Specops, thanks! And as always I had lots of fun with CGI-Lena, CGI-Trolle, Cellip-Mårten, Atea-Johan S and Atea-Johan D.

I hope to meet you all again at Ignite 2016 which will be held at the same location in May 9-13, 2016.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

I was
working in the Hands-on-labs department as I have been the past couple of
TechED conventions. We had around 150 labs available during the week and over
70 Microsoft Certified Trainers worked with the labs, mainly helping attendees
getting started with and finishing labs. It was a lot of fun as usual! If you attended
Ignite these labs will be accessible through "My Ignite" for 30 days
after the event.

The keynote hall was huge!

Keynotes

The first
day started out with a keynote filled with many nice announcements of just
released and soon to be released products. "Empowering" seemed to be
a major buzzword used throughout the keynote. A lot of shorter demos and videos
made the three hour keynote really enjoyable, but a Seventh-inning stretch would
have been nice.

Satya Nadella
the CEO of Microsoft opened and Joe Belfiore did a lot of the demos, and among
some of the new things announced were:

Several
cool demos of an improved Cortana, the voice activated assistant were shown.
Cortana have now learnt how to use windows as well, so that we can ask her:
"How do I project my screen?" for example. Adding Business Intelligence to Cortana
makes her feel a bit like "HAL" in the 2001 movie - cool, but a bit scary as well.

Windows
Hello is a new way of logging in simply by letting the computer look for your
face, and as soon as the computer sees your face you logged in to the system.

Next
Gurdeep Singh Pall talked about Modern productivity, which is teams, human
mobility and meetings. Julia White
came on stage to show the new Surface Hub which is a huge touch-sensitive
screen with cameras that can be used for running Skype for business meetings. Gurdeep
also stated: "If you’re still using WebEx and GoToMeeting, and products
from the last decade, stop doing that.You can use your money on better things." His entire speech can be found here and here
you can read more about how Skype for Business gains momentum.

Other Skype
for business news and announcements that came during Ignite were:

Skype for
Business Broadcasting - broadcast meetings to up to 10,000 users simultaneously.

A new, not
an upgraded, Skype for Business for Mac client will be delivered this year.

In-call
co-authoring allows multiple people to work together on a single document
during a meeting.

Between
5:00 and 6:00 PM the first day there was a second "showcase" keynote which showed
things that Microsoft research is working on. Very interesting thoughts on big
data, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, speech recognition and
computer vision. I recommend you to watch this keynote in case you missed it at
Ignite, also check out how-old.net if you have not done so already.

Watch out
for a coming blog post on the Ignite sessions, venue, expo hall, networking,
tweeting and parties!

Friday, April 24, 2015

After five years of successful business endeavors I am closing down the IT operations of our little company. I have helped 20+ organizations with their Unified Communications and Lync needs during this time, and counting my customer's customers, it is well over 50 organizations. Some 200 students have attended my classes in Stockholm, Go:teborg, Malmoe, Arboga, Utrecht, Amsterdam and over the Internet, my farthest student were actually located in Singapore. It was also great the time we could turn a face-to-face class into a "remote learning experience" on the fly due to bad weather; this using the very software we were training on. I had a great time working face to face with my customers around Stockholm and in Sweden and I also enjoyed rebooting servers after hours in more than 10 different European countries. So, this is definitely the end of a chapter, and now a new one begins!

I have started at CloudPro as CTO. At CloudProI will continue helping organizations around the globe with Lync and the new Skype for business software. I will also become part of a larger team at CloudPro. Now I will have teammates who knows networking, hosting, licensing, hardware, Office 365, MDM, web development and even Macintosh computers (!?!) We will start out small, but expansion is definitely a part of our business plan. The shop is open - please contact us for any Unified Communications needs!

Next up for me is of course Microsoft Ignite in Chicago whok,ere I will work in the Hands-On-Labs area as usual. It will be great to meet with all my fellow MCT friends and all other computer geeks in Chicago. I am especially looking forward to the full release of Skype for business Server 2015 in May. I will become more "cloud-oriented" from here on, but my heart still remains on-prem or at least hybrid a bit longer. For my Swedish friends I hope to see you at Techdays in October if not before on Skype. My blog will remain here for now and I will try to keep posting interesting stuff from time to time as usual.

Thank you for this time all my customers, partners and friends - hope I will meet you again in future projects!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

So I joined the thirteenth session of the Skype for BusinessReadiness WebCast Series and the topic for today were Lessons Learned from
Preview. The Webcast was recorded and is available online from the
link above.

Rick Varvel presented a lot of details around the TAP
Program and how Skype for business have been tested by customers before the
coming release.

Some 50 companies have participated in the program and they
have homed around 130,000 users on S4B pools already. More than 1800 bugs have
been found and weeded out during the program, and a lot of training has been
delivered as well. Some coming features are still being tested in the program
such as Broadcast Meetings and Skype Box (what is that?)

It was stated again that Hybrid solutions is a big focus
going forward, and lots of time in the TAP program has gone to helping customers
to get ready with ADFS Office 365 federation and other techniques needed for
hybrid. Rick also explained the timelines in the project and the difficulty to
predict release dates; but May still looks promising :-) It seems as
recruitment for the next TAP program is already ongoing and it is nice to know
that the product we like is constantly being improved upon.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Today I joined the twelfth session of the Skype for Business Readiness WebCast Series and the topic for today were Lync/Skype Federation
(Phase 2). The Webcast was recorded and is available online from the
link above.

Kiran Kodali presented the topic and answered questions. Skype
for Business is using the SILK codec; SILK is a better codec than RTA and / or
G.722 at any network condition. In phase 2 of the Skype-Skype (that is for
business with consumer) federation, media can be sent peer-to-peer from
consumer Skype clients straight to S4B clients. If this is not possible due to
firewalls STUN / TURN servers on both ends will be used. Phase 2 of this
federation is already running in the Skype cloud and can be used as soon as
on-prem servers and clients have been upgraded to Skype for business. Phase 2
also adds a Skype directory search which requires a S4B Edge server. The S4B
Edge connects to a "Skype graph service", which is a service running
in Azure delivering search results from the global Skype directory. Searches in
the Skype directory can be done on name, location, email, phone and SkypeID,
also Skype thumbnail pictures will be visible for S4B users. When we do a
search from within the S4B client and have Skype Directory Search enabled, we
will have a choice of where to search, in "My Contacts" or in
"Skype Directory", with the default being "My Contacts"
which is the internal address book. Conferencing or screen sharing capabilities
is not a part of phase 2.

Here comes todays QnA session, 17 questions and 13 answers, enjoy!

New features

Will the new Skype for business server allow federation with
Skype accounts or will federation only work with MS Skype accounts?

Do Skype clients gain network efficiencies like SILK during
a P2P session when running again an on-prem Lync 2013 server?

Yes, SILK will be used in P2P for both Skype and Lync
clients for users homed on Lync 2013 Server on premise.

When will the Skype Directory search be available in the
client?

It is already available in the S4B client, but it requires
the user to be homed on a S4B server using a S4B Edge.

When Skype search is set to true can you still block this at
Site Level?

Yes, Skype-Skype Federation search module works the same as
Federation module, so you can disable it for a Site.

In S4B Online, will we be able to control who (by name
and/or group) can and cannot (1) search for "public" Skype users and
(2) connect with "public" Skype users?

For Online users, you can grant the ability for Skype Public
IM at a user level and you can script this via PowerShell to bulk assign to users
using the

Grant-CsExternalAccessPolicy. If a user has Skype Public IM
capability then they also have the ability to search the Skype Directory.

How are enterprises approved/enabled for SkypeID search?

No requirement to be approved. We just need to have S4B
Client/Pool/Edge, and of course we need to enable Federation with Skype
consumer (aka PIC federation.)

Is TCP port 4443 required inbound, outbound, or both?

Client to the Pool (TCP 443 – same as ABWQ) The Pool to the
Edge (TCP 4443 – same as CMS replication) Edge to Skype Directory Search in
Azure (TCP 443 - Access Edge Interface, and AV Edge Interface for media.)

Are any new external SRV records required or will the
federation use the ones we use today?

No new SRV records required, the only infrastructure change
will be outbound TCP 443 on the Access Edge server to enable the Skype
Directory search feature.

Unchanged features

Do we still need to register every SIP domains Edge server
at pic.lync.com?

Yes, for On-Premise deployments, you still need to register
your SIP domains and an Edge server to enable Federation between your
deployment and Skype consumer, for Online, you just need to enable Skype
Federation in the tenant.

If we have currently configured Lync 2013 Server-Skype
connectivity and we will not upgrade to S4B server, will the federation still
function (without the Skype Provider update)?

Yes, but the Directory search is not available with Lync
2013.

Will the Phase 2 enhancement also be available for Lync
2013?

No, V2 Directory Search requires Skype for Business
Edge/Pool/Client.

Features "missing"

Can a Skype consumer client join a Skype4B conference?

No, Skype cannot connect to conferences hosted in Skype for
Business over the federation route. However, using the PSTN calling capability
in Skype, a Skype user can dial into a Skype for Business CAA and join this
way.

If two S4B users are on a P2P call, can they add Skype
Federated user in the same call?

No, in this scenario, we would require a conference
escalation. They would need to "meet now" then provide the Skype
client a CAA to dial in to (assuming the Skype client is setup to use PSTN
calling.)

Will there be a new Skype for Mac client to bring it to the
S4B level and include the SILK codec?

Not answered.

Will the SILK codec be added to a future firmware update for
existing Lync Phone Edition devices?

Not answered.

Will the Federation be extended to more platforms such as
Skype Smart TVs and Xbox One?

Not answered.

Will Skype clients use SILK in case of media-bypass with
Audiocodes Mediant 1000?

In order for this to happen, Audiocodes would have to update
their devices to support the SILK codec. This would be dependent upon
Audiocodes and your Audiocodes rep would be able to answer. (Maybe we can get a
comment on the plans for this from Audiocodes - I will try…)

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Today I joined the webcast on the Skype for Business Dual UI
Client Logic. It was a separate presentation in the same style as the
readiness series to prepare Lync admins for the coming switch to Skype for
Business and Skype for Business Online. The information focused on the coming
client and its ability to swap between a Lync 2013 GUI or a Skype for business
GUI with simple settings. A recording will available within a week from today.

Kaushal Mehta presented in a clear pedagogical order. The
most confusing thing is if this information is public or not. At first it was
said that it is for "internal use only", but then it was said it is
not confidential and can be shared with customers, but subject to change at
anytime before the official Skype for business release. So, if anyone from
Microsoft have objections to this blog post - please let me know.

On April 14 (aka patch Tuesday) the Office 2103 patch will
upgrade existing Lync 2013 clients as part of Office 2013 to Skype for
business. This means that administrators must choose how to handle the GUI of
the new Skype for business client. There is a new parameter (EnableSkypeUI) in
the CsClient policy and a 2 new custom policies in Office 365 to control this
behavior. The following two tables explain the parameters for Skype for
business server (on-prem) and Office 365.

The Skype for business server (on-prem) parameter in client
policy

The two new custom policies in Office 365

On April 14 an update to an existing Lync 2013 client will become available, there
will not be a new client available for download at this time. To get Skype for business
on a new computer Office 2013 or Lync 2013 must be installed first, and then
updated with the patch coming on April 14th. Skype for business 2015 server
(the on-prem version) will be available on May 1, and in Office 365 we can already
find the two new policies; so all that is changing on April 14 is really the
client part.

Some QnA from today’s session:

Has documentation been published that provides all of these
details and scenarios?

Monday, April 6, 2015

Today I joined the eleventh session of the Skype for
Business Readiness WebCast Series and the topic for today were Video Interop Server
Deep-dive. The Webcast was recorded and is available online from the
link above.

Lynn Roe presented and showed a nice demo with a VTC unit
joining a S4B meeting and also calling in to a S4B client using the Video Interop Server (VIS) server role. We also
got to see the new CLSlogger and some logging details of the VIS calls. The new
CLSlogger will be released with the debugging / Resource Kit tools shortly
after RTM. The video interoperability server role allows S4B customers to
continue using already deployed (and expensive) Cisco VTC solutions. A Cisco
CUCM is required for VIS interoperability and DTMF from a VTC to S4B is
supported. Only inbound calls from a Cisco VTC to S4B are supported.